December 2018 Briefing - Geriatrics

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Geriatrics for December 2018. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Catheter Ablation Tops Drug Therapy for A-Fib in Heart Failure

MONDAY, Dec. 31, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Catheter ablation is better than drug therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure, according to a review published online Dec. 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

FRIDAY, Dec. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with knee osteoarthritis and at least 12 months of follow-up, there is uncertainty around estimates of effect size for the change in pain in association with medications versus placebo, according to a meta-analysis published in the Dec. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Announcement and implementation of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) were associated with increased 30-day postdischarge mortality following hospitalization for heart failure and pneumonia, but not acute myocardial infarction (AMI), according to a study published in the Dec. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dancing Tied to Lower Odds of Disability in Activities of Daily Living

THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For older women, participation in dancing is associated with a reduced likelihood of incident disability in activities of daily living (ADL), according to a study published online Dec. 18 in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.

THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has developed new guidelines for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE); the clinical practice guidelines were recently published in Blood Advances.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The Infectious Diseases Society of America has updated their recommendations for the care of patients with suspected or diagnosed influenza; the clinical practice guidelines were published online Dec. 19 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of nurses have an unfavorable opinion of their hospital's end-of-life care, according to a study published online Dec. 2 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- States in the West and in Appalachia have a higher prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than other states, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with several improved outcomes in men but not women, according to a study recently published in the British Journal of Surgery.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Weekly massage sessions may provide short-term symptom relief for knee osteoarthritis patients, but the benefit is not maintained over one year of follow-up, according to a study published online Dec. 12 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- After infections tied to unapproved stem cell treatments sent 12 people to the hospital this past year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a stern warning about the products.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Home health care workers' beliefs about infection prevention seem to have a greater influence on prevention protocol compliance than their absolute knowledge of infection control practices, according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people living with dementia worldwide more than doubled from 1990 to 2016, according to a study published online Nov. 26 in The Lancet Neurology.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- From 2005 to 2017, there was a substantial increase in telemedicine use, although use was still uncommon in 2017, according to a research letter published online Nov. 27 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Both restrictive and obstructive lung disease are associated with an increased risk for incident dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Patient-centered care is emphasized in updated clinical practice recommendations from the American Diabetes Association 2019 Standards of Care, published as a supplement to the January issue of Diabetes Care.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Postmenopausal women with edentulism are at an increased risk for developing hypertension, according to a study published online Dec. 4 in the American Journal of Hypertension.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Several comorbidities are associated with an increased risk for early readmission after hip fracture surgery, according to a study recently published in Injury.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable proportion of cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths in Shandong Province, China, may be attributable to high sodium intake, according to a study published online Dec. 19 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Legacy prescribing of certain drugs, such as antidepressants and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), is common, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Opioid use is associated with small improvements in pain and physical functioning in patients with chronic noncancer pain, according to research published in the Dec. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For older adults, declines in memory after heart surgery and cardiac catheterization are similar, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- From 2007 to 2017, the number of physicians excluded from Medicare and state public insurance programs increased, according to a study published online Dec. 14 in JAMA Network Open.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- An analysis of electronic health record data reveals considerable differences in hypertension control across health systems, according to a study published in the November-December issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Routine use of vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent chronic disease is not recommended, according to an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position paper published in the November issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

MONDAY, Dec. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with heart failure, follow-up care within seven days of discharge from the emergency department is associated with lower rates of long-term mortality and subsequent admissions, according to a study published in the Dec. 17 issue of CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

FRIDAY, Dec. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Physician mothers experience discrimination in a range of ways, which can impact the medical profession, according to a study published online Dec. 12 in The BMJ.

FRIDAY, Dec. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The inverse association between fiber intake and the risk for incident symptomatic knee osteoarthritis may be partially mediated by body mass index, according to a study published in the December issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

THURSDAY, Dec. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Medication errors in acute care that result in death occur most often in patients older than 75 years, with the most common error category being omitted medicine or ingredient, according to a study published online Nov. 22 in Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Both short and long sleep duration and poor sleep quality are associated with increased odds of recurrent falls in women, according to a study published online Nov. 21 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is down with just days left to sign up, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Continuity of care scores are significantly associated with lower expenditures and hospitalization rates, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- About 17 percent of patients with diabetes report experiencing hypoglycemia when fasting for lab tests, according to a study recently published in the International Journal of Endocrinology.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Policies for paid childbearing or family leave for residents are lacking at top-ranking medical schools and may be exacerbated by lack of direction from specialty boards, according to two research letters published in the Dec. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- After implementation of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) diversity accreditation standards, U.S. medical schools saw increasing percentages of female, black, and Hispanic matriculants, according to a research letter published in the Dec. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Free flap breast reconstruction is a viable and safe procedure in elderly patients, according to a study published in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- An expert consensus decision pathway has been developed for tobacco cessation treatment; the report was published online Dec. 5 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- After extensive adjustment for confounders, influenza vaccination is associated with a reduced risk for all-cause and cardiovascular death among patients with heart failure, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in Circulation.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Intellectual engagement is associated with level of cognitive performance in later life but does not influence the trajectory of age-related decline in cognitive performance, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in The BMJ.

MONDAY, Dec. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Stress related to use of health information technology (HIT) is common and predictive of burnout among physicians, according to a study published online Dec. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

MONDAY, Dec. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For older patients, small-head cemented metal-on-polyethylene implants are the cost-effective choice for total hip replacements, according to a study recently published in Value in Health.

MONDAY, Dec. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Statins are associated with a low risk for side effects, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) published online Dec. 10 in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Less Than One Hour of Resistance Training Weekly Tied to Lower CVD Risk

MONDAY, Dec. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Less than an hour a week of resistance exercise (RE) is associated with decreased risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related events and all-cause mortality, independent of aerobic exercise, according to a study recently published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

FRIDAY, Dec. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly two-thirds of insured adults with a previous health care visit did not use an online patient portal in 2017, according to a study published in the December issue of Health Affairs.

FRIDAY, Dec. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals with heart failure, those with impairment in activities of daily living (ADL) take as many medications as those without ADL impairment, according to a study published online Nov. 29 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Pictorial presentation of silent atherosclerosis contributes to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online Dec. 3 in The Lancet.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Only 15.4 percent of physicians work in practices that use telemedicine for a wide spectrum of patient interactions, with larger practice size being an important correlate of telemedicine use, according to a study published in the December issue of Health Affairs.

TUESDAY, Dec. 4, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has developed a draft strategy to reduce the health information technology (IT) burden, and the strategy is open for public comment through Jan. 28, 2019.

MONDAY, Dec. 3, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with employer-sponsored insurance, there was a decline in visits to primary care physicians (PCPs) from 2012 to 2016, according to a brief released Nov. 15 by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

MONDAY, Dec. 3, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Patellar mobilization therapy (PMT) plus exercise has the potential to reduce pain and improve function and quality of life for patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to a phase 2 study published Nov. 12 in the Annals of Family Medicine.